Dog Friendly Pace to stay
 

Hi,

Just wondering if any of you can help us out.
We recently relocated to Brevard County from
CA. Can't tell you hwo unhappy it made us to learn that this county isn NOT dog friendly. Not allowed on beaches etc.

We are planning to take a vacation over the Christmas Holiday while DH has time off work.
We would like a beachy area that allows dogs.
Mandy, (our dog), is VERY social and well behaved.....she is really one of the family.
She loves people and all animals. She sure misses her life style in CA!

We're opened to all suggestions and appreciate anything you can offer.
Thanks for taking the time.....

Where is Brevard County? I am guessing not in California.

And are you looking to fly for this trip or drive? If drive, how long of a drive is acceptable? Do you want very warm weather, or is wearing sweaters and coats OK?

And before you reply with "I chose XX state forum when I posted." that's just a search indexing tool. All posts get dumped directly onto the grand US board, and many people visit the US board as a whole without first restricting it by state. From that view, it's impossible to tell which state it was posted under. (I'm not trying to be mean, just explaining the system. It's a common misunderstanding.)

FL.

Loki, you might want to check the petswelcome.com website.

Flagler Beach, about 100 miles north of you is dog friendly. Or at least was a couple years ago when I was doing research.

I myself will not stay at a place that allows dogs - too dirty and too many fleas!!!!

janiekins - Why was it important for you to say that on a thread where the poster obviously is looking for places that do allow dogs?

Good! There will be more room for us at the Four Seasons then! :-)

Thanks for your thoughts. Sorry I wasn't very clear. We now live in Mims, FL. It's about 40 miles east of Orlando, 35 miles south of Daytona
Beach.

No, it doesn't have to be warm....maybe sweater and jacket weather. Wonder if any of the Islands off the west coast of FL might allow dogs.

Also, was thinking about TN...Knoxville
or Gatlinburg. However, after reading some other posts, it sounds like Gatlinburg might be too crowded.

It would be nice to be able to take Mandy to the beach, even if it's too cool for swimming....just would like her to be able to run on the sand.

Thanks again

OH.....forgot....we will
be driving

Hi MsMuir
We live in Jacksonville ,Fl,(Duval County) a very dog friendly town.
BTW- I think ALL State parks in Florida are dog friendly as long as they are on leash.
They are allowed on the beaches.
They have some really great dog parks where they can run off leash and swim in their own dog pond and run in their own dog forest where their owners are allowed to go too.
There are hotels here that are dog friendly, La Quinta comes to mind first, because that is where we stayed last year when we moved here.
Only problem, it gets chilly/cold here in December so I don't know if it is too far north for you.
If it sounds interesting to you, let me know, I will post more info here.
Good luck from Pup & Scarlett

If you're willing to drive that far . . .

We take our Brittany down to Hilton Head once or twice a year. Off-season she's allowed to run free and boy does she love going after those seagulls. Technically, dogs must be under voice command. Usually she is, except when she's after dem birds.

Chrismas will be chilly for humans on the beach, but we are easily able to entertain ourselves shopping and visiting the great bars and restaurants on the island.

Honeymoon Island State Park, off the Gulf Coast of Florida, has a dog beach. It's fantastic. We take our dogs there all the time. It's probably 40 minutes from Tampa.

I would highly recommend the book, A Dog Lover's Companion to Florida. It's outstanding.

If you decide to come over the the Tampa/Clearwater area, you could stay at the Lorelei Resort in Treasure Island, which is EXTREMELY dog friendly, check out their web site. http://www.loreleiresort.com/ It's probably 20-30 minutes to Honeymoon Island from Lorelei.

If you are south of Daytona, you are about 2-2 1/2 hours from Jacksonville.

WOW...you guys are great! Lots of ideas.
Frist, Brian_in_Charlotte, don't think that would be too far to drive,(Hilton Head), was wondering if you have any advice on places to stay.

Scarlett, I don't know much about Jacksonville except by driving thu it.
Seems like a BIG city to me so I am amazed that there is a dog beach there.
We were staying in Cocoa Beach in temp housing when we frist arived here, and
no one beach will allow dogs. In fact
most people were of the same opinion as
janiekins when it comes to dogs. That's really good to know that Jacksonville is a dog friendly place!

birder...thanks for the url to the Lorilei...looks like a good possibility.
Also thanks for the recommendation for
"A Dog Lover's Companion to Florida"
will get it for sure!

I'm going to look up everything I can about Hilton Hear for the holidays as well as Honeymoon Island.

As far as Flaggler Beach goes, someone told me that they changed the dog rules there....I'll check into that as well.

Thanks again.....you all have been very helpful!

Good website with official rules of Florida beaches and comments from users -
http://www.doortosummer.com/door/civic/beachpts.htm

East coast beaches that allow dogs -
http://www.tidalflats.com/Dog_Beaches.html

And pet friendly hotels at Florida beaches -
http://www.dogfriendly.com/server/tr...hstateFL.shtml

MsMuir-

A friend stays at the Holiday Inn in Naples Fl--it allows pets..but you cannot take your dog on Naples beaches..

I am in Fl now and am right near a state park...you CANNOT walk a dog on the FL parks or beaches..tried that last year with my pet--but there is a guard at the entrance of the fla parks and they yelled at me when I took my dog out and tried to walk her near the Intracoastal...

You are allowed to walk your dog on city streets as long as you use a pooper scooper...

Dogs are NOT allowed on the beach across from our condo...nor on the state park beach right near us...

I am sorry if I gave incorrect information on the beaches that allow dogs. I do know that the beaches in Jax (Atlantic,Jacksonville,PonteVedra and Guana River State Park & the public St Johns County beaches allow dogs on leash on the beach.) We have also taken Pup to Big Talbot and Little Talbot Islands.
Here is the list we got when we moved here last year, for Parks that allow dogs:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Anastasia State Recreation Area
Big Lagoon State Recreation Area
Blackwater River State Park
Blue Spring State Park
Collier-Seminole State Park
Dead Lakes State Recreation Area
Falling Waters State Recreation Area
Florida Caverns State Park
Fort Clinch State Park
Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area
Gold Head Branch State Park
Highlands Hammock State Park
Hillsborough River State Park
Jonathan Dickinson State Park
Koreshan State Historic Site
Lake Griffin State Park
Little Manatee River State Recreation Area
Little Talbot Island State Park
Manatee Springs State Park
Ochlockonee River State Park
Oscar Scherer State Park
Rainbow Springs State Park
Sebastian Inlet State Recreation Area
St. George Island State Park
Suwannee River State Park
Three Rivers State Recreation Area
Tomoka State Park
Wekiwa Springs State Park

MsMuir, it may not fit the running on the beach/ sandy paws image, but check out the free run dog parks. They are a great alternative. It's been years since I took my labs to swim in the ocean (Jekyll Island, GA) but my current labs love swimming in the pond every day. Most dog parks have a lake or pond for swimming.

Jekyll has dog-friendly hotels as well.

If you don't mind driving to the Panhandle, rent a house in Indian Pass or Cape San Blas. There are no hotels in the area - just rentals. I've been on the beach for a week and see only 1 family or two (from afar) all week. My dogs love running the beach and chasing birds. Never catch anything but they have fun trying!

Yes, this is the dog park that I mentioned where they have their own lake and woods :)

http://www.jaxdogs.com/

Gee, I guess our dog isn't the only one who takes a "get off my beach!!" tack with the waterfowl! (and the waves...!). Anyway, he went with us to Seagrove Beach last year and was one of many pooches enjoying a romp along the shore.

MsMuir, there are a few chain hotel/motels that accept dogs, but most are too far from the beach. We stay at the Comfort Inn on South Forest Beach. It's nothing fancy, but just fine for us and is very reasonable in the off-season. It's across the street from the beach, but you have to turn right and walk about a quarter mile to the closest public beach access (it's a very nicely landscaped walking trail that traverses most of the island). Turning left from the hotel is just as far and takes you down to a busier section of the beach (where there are restaurants and a shopping area).

The beach, depending on the tide will be big or huge, very flat and firm, suitable for running with or chasing your dog.

Scarlett, thanks for that URL to the Dog Park in Jax! That's really amazing!
I didn't know there were any parks like that!

Here in Brevard Co. they do have what they call dog parks, but they're tiny!
No water...well to drink , yes, but no ponds etc. I did fine a kind of nice one in Sanford...about 30 miles away
and we do go there sometimes so Mandy
can socialize with other dogs. Nothing is nearly as nice as this one in Jax. Thaks again.

starrsville, Thanks for all the links!
Will check them all out today.

andy...thank you too. We decided against Naples since we heard it was really crowded, but most of all it sounds like a most dog unfriendly place.

Scarlett...you sure have loads of pages
thanks for taking the time to send them.

tuckerdc, where is Seagrove Beach?

Brian, do you have any idea what the weather is like there in Dec?

I'm off to check out all the info you kind folks took the time to send. Hopefully we can make a decision soon.
Seems like when you pland a trip for the holidays, especially with your pet,
resos can't be any too early!

Thanks again everyone!

If I was a betting man, I'd wager it'd be somewhere in the lower 60s during the day and upper 40s or mid 50s at night. But we've experienced it all from 30s in the morning (that's a cold run on the beach) to 70s in the afternoon (not same trip of course). One crazy Thanksgiving we even took the chairs out to the beach and caught some rays in our swimsuits. Your results may vary.

Thanks, Brian. It doesn't sound too bad...maybe even invigorating!

You should try Key West - they have a great dog beach there right behind a great restaurant by the name of Louie's Backyard. We take our eskie there all of the time. Also, re: the comment from janiekins re: not staying in hotels where pets are allowed - that's better for all of the wonderful people who do have dogs and consider them part of their family. I am sure my dog lives a much better life than you do.

Seagrove Beach is on the Florida panhandle, just east of Seaside.